Cover for fuel tank openings



Feb. 21, 1933. MCINTYRE 1,898,378

COVER FOR FUEL TANK OPENINGS Filed Dec. 22, 1930 2y f/wy g AW 6 PatentedFeb. 21, 1933 "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FRANCIS R. MCINTYRE, OFOGDEN, IOWA oovnn non FUEL TANK ornivnvcs Application filed December 22,1930. Serial No. 504,037.

This invention relates to the removal of arrangement and combination ofthe various inflammable fuel from railway tank cars in parts of thedevice, whereby the objects conwhich a vertically arranged pipe isusually templated are attained, as hereinafter more inserted in themanhole, said pipe extending fully set forth, pointed out in my claims,and

downwardly into the tank to a point'near its illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, in

bottom and detachably connected to a suitwhich: able pump pipe. Figure 1is an end elevation of a tank car On account of the manhole openingofthe showing the manner in which the pump pipe tank beinglarger thanthe pump pipe, it will is applied thereto while emptying the car, 0readily be seen that a comparatively large and the manner in which myimproved cover open space exists around the pipe through is applied tothe pipe and the tank. which particles of dirt and hot cinders mayFigure 2 is a detail sectional view taken on enter. The hot cinderssometimes set fire the line 22 of Figure 1. to the fuel within the tank,causing the loss Figure 3 is a detail sectional view taken on 15 ofhuman life. the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

To overcome the possibilty of such ac- Figure 4 is an enlarged sideelevation of cidents, the operators are required to stuff my improvedcover in a folded position, as the space around the pipe with watersoaked applied to the pump pipe. burlap or similar material, so that anyhot Figure 5 is'a detail sectional view of'the O cinders will beexcluded from the interior upper end of the cover as applied to a segofthe tank and extinguished by engaging the mental portion of the pumppipe. wet burlap. In the accompanying drawing, I have used The use ofthe water soaked burlap is very the reference numeral 10 to indicate therailundesirable for the reason that in the winter way car on which issupported a fuel tank 11 it freezes and it is almost impossible to useit of ordinary construction, having an upward- 175 with any degree ofsatisfaction. In warmer lyprojecting drum-portion 12 in its upperweather, the water soaked burlap is often side. The head 13 of said drumisprovided stored away in some corner of a building and with a manholeopening 14:. often causes fire by spontaneous combustion. A cover plateis always provided for the p Furthermore, the wet burlap is unhandy andmanhole opening, which is fixed in position often is not used. to coverthe opening during transportation, It is, therefore, the object of thisinvention said cover being removed at the time it is to provide simpleand inexpensive means, desired to remove the fuel. Said cover is notwhich is always accessible and which may be here illustrated inasmuch asit forms no part easily and quickly applied to the manhole of thisinvention. opening at the time the pump pipe is placed Supportedhorizontally above the tank 11 therein, which is practically fireproofand is a pump pipe 15, also of ordinary construcwill not freeze. tion,and provided with pumping means not More specifically it is the objectof my inillustrated for drawing fuel out of the tank vention to providea cover of pliable material 11. The pipe 15 is provided with an elbowwhich may be adjustably mounted on the deportion 16 having a flange 17to which a simitachable portion of the pump pipe, so arlar flange 18 issecured by means of suitable ranged that it may be open to asubstantially bolts 19. The flange 18 is designed to supcone shaped formto completely cover the port a pipe'20, the lower end of which pro- 495opening, and to permit hot cinders and parjects downwardly into the tank11, termitioles of dirt to roll off of its surface by nating near thebottom of said tank. gravity, and at the same time provides means Myimproved cover comprises a substanwhereby the cover may be easily andquickly tially cone shaped member 21, preferably folded into compactform. formed of pliable material, such as canvas,

This invention consists in the construction, and having its base edgeprovided with a hem E 22 to form a reinforcement for said edge. The hemportion is provided with a series of perforations 23 adapted to receiveropes or other similar devices by means of which the lower edge of thecover may be tied down if so desired. Ordinarily I find that the use oftie strings is not necessary.

The apex end of the member 21 is provided with an opening 24 forreceiving the pipe 20. The said opening 24 is reinforced by a collar 25,which is also formed of pliable material such as canvas, formed bydoubling the material one or more times upon itself, and sewing thefolded portions together, then forming the folded member into a ring orcollar which is placed inside of the opening 24 and stitched to themember 21. The collar 25 is then slid on the pipe 20 to a point near itsupper end and secured in position by means of a metal clamp 26, having abolt 27 and a thumb nut 28 for applying tension to the clamp, wherebythe cover member may be slidably mounted on the pipe 20 to accommodatetanks of various elevations.

The binding cord 29 is provided, the central portion of which is fixedto one side of the member 21, with both ends free, in such a manner thatthe cover may be folded around the pipe and finally tied in the mannerclearly illustrated in Figure 4.

The pliable material from which the cover is formed is treated withfireproofing material, so that any hot cinders or the like falling onthe cover will not cause the cover to burn.

In practical operation the pipe 20 is detached from the pipe 15 when notin use. When it is desired to empty a tank, the operator grasps the pipe20, which has on it the cover member 21 folded in the manner illustratedin Figure 4. The pipe is then inserted through the opening 14 of thetank. The upper end is then secured to the pipe 15. The cord 29 is thenuntied and the cover member spread out with the hem 22 resting on thehead 13 and around the edges of the opening 14, in the mannerillustrated in Figure 2.

The collar 21 is elevated to such a point that the sides of the coverwill assume a steep inclined position, so that any hot cinders or thelike falling on the side of the cover will roll off to position on topof the metal head 13.

If the Weather is windy, it may be necessary to Weight the hem 22 orapply ropes or cords through the openings 23.

By this arrangement it will be seen that I have provided a very simpleand effective cover which is permanently connected to the pipe 20, andwhich may be easily and quickly placed into operative position, and whenso placed all danger of dust and hot cinders entering the tank will beeliminated.

It will further be seen that I have provided a cover which eliminatesthe objections to the methods heretofore used, inasmuch as the device isalways accessible and overcomes the tendency of the operator to neglectthe duty of covering the opening on account of the time required and theinconvenience in handling a frozen cover.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pipe member,a cone shaped cover member formed of pliable fireproof material, andmeans for binding said cover in a collapsible condition adjacent to saidpipe.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination of a pipe member,a cone shaped cover member formed of pliable fireproof material, andmeans for binding said cover in a collapsible condition adjacent to saidpipe, the bottom edge of said cover being provided with perforations,for the purposes stated.

3. In a device of the class described, a cone shaped cover formed ofpliable material having an opening in its apex end, a reinforcing collarformed of pliable material for said opening, a metal clamp surroundingsaid collar for adjustably mounting the same on a pipe, and a bindingcord having its central portion attached to said cover.

4. In a device of the class described, a cone shaped cover formed ofpliable material having an opening in its apex end, a reinforcing collarformed of pliable material for said opening, a metal clamp surroundingsaid collar for adjustably mounting the same on a pipe, a binding cordhaving its central portion attached to said cover, and a series ofperforations in the base edge of said cover.

FRANCIS R. MoINDYRE.

